This from the California Tourism Board.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Don't forget the exploding trees.

Hate to tell you, but much of the recent bout of wildfire California had seen was caused by a series of unseasonable lightning storms in late August.   When trees are struck by lightning, the electricity is mostly conducted through the wet part of the wood.  The moisture violently evaporated and can explode the tree.

So the Start of these current wild fire can well be associated with many instances of exploding trees.

Hate to tell you, but that’s not what Trump said. He said trees lay on the ground, dry out, and ‘just explode’. His meaning was that the spontaneous explosion of dead trees was the cause of the wild fires. 

Boru